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Ham in Uruguay Scores “Clean Sweep” in ARRL November Sweepstakes CW

Technology marches on and, controversy aside, operating a remote station via the Internet has become more common in recent years. In the ARRL November Sweepstakes CW event last weekend, a ham who lives in Uruguay remotely operated a station in the US, making a clean sweep in the process. Tom Morton, K6CT/CX7TT, who lives in near Montevideo, logged into one of the operating positions at K4VV in Virginia. Operating as W4YY at a distance of nearly 5200 miles, he managed a clean sweep.

“I don’t know if this is a first, but it would seem to be. It also demonstrates the efficacy of remote contesting,” said Mike Lonneke, WØYR, the K4VV Remote Contesting Project Manager. According to Lonneke, Morton served for many years as an airline pilot, and later was tapped to be a flight instructor. He’s a DXpeditioner and contester.

Lonneke says the operating experience from the remote end “is transparent.” Several remote operators have run K4VV as a multiop, and W4GOV once operated K4VV — the station of Jack Hammett, K4VV — during Field Day 2013 from Saudi Arabia. The station has three “operating positions” for remote operators, who can control everything, including an impressive array of antennas. (For more information on K4VV, see “Contesting by Remote Control,” by Mike Lonneke, WØYR, September/October 2013 NCJ).

In a turnabout situation, Tree Tyree, N6TR, remotely operated VY1EI in Yukon Territory, Canada, from his home in Oregon. Eric, the station owner, was also on hand as they logged 1288 QSOs and a clean sweep!

But wait! There’s more!Hal Offutt, W1NN, operated his home station in Medina, Ohio, in this year’s SS CW remotely from Tokyo — a distance of more than 6500 miles. No word on how he did.

The operator of a remote station must identify as transmitting at the remote station site and follow all of the rules and regulations in the country hosting the transmitting site. — Thanks to Mike Lonneke, WØYR, andThe ARRL Contest Update